"Actor: Mariko Okada"

• Tampopo | Blu Ray | (01/05/2017) from £17.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Juzo Itami's offbeat, outrageously sexy, long-unavailable ramen western. The tale of an eccentric band of culinary ronin who guide the widow of a noodle shop owner on her quest for the perfect recipe, this rapturous ramen western by Japanese director JUZO ITAMI (A Taxing Woman) is an entertaining, genre-bending adventure underpinned by a deft satire of the way social conventions distort the most natural of human urges, our appetites. Interspersing the efforts of Tampopo (NOBUKO MIYAMOTO) and friends to make her café a success with the erotic exploits of a gastronome gangster and glimpses of food culture both high and low, the sweet, sexy, and surreal Tampopo is a lavishly inclusive paean to the sensual joys of nourishment, and one of the most mouth-watering examples of food on film ever made. Click Images to Enlarge

• A Story Written with Water (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (25/03/2024) from £19.35   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• THE FALL OF AKO CASTLE (AKA Swords of Vengeance) | Blu Ray | (11/12/2023) from £20.25   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Floating Clouds | Blu Ray | (01/07/2024) from £15.50   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  During the war in French Indochina, a married Japanese man falls in love with a young typist, Yukiko, and promises to marry her after the war. Upon their return to Tokyo, their idyllic relationship crumbles, but they cannot keep away from one another. Despite finding nothing but conflict and instability, they helplessly return to each other repeatedly as they attempt to rebuild their lives from the ruins of World War II. A classic of Japanese cinema described as a 'masterpiece' by Yasujiro Ozu, Floating Clouds is a melancholy meditation on the hopeless side of love. Through the lens of Yukiko and Tomioka's tempestuous relationship, Mikio Naruse's most acclaimed film quietly captures the devastation of a country in economic post-war ruin. Product FeaturesExtras Newly restored and presented in High Definition Newly recorded audio commentary by film critic Adrian Martin Interview with Japanese film expert Freda Freiberg (2007, 11 mins) Paul Willeman on Floating Clouds (2007, 7 mins) Commentary on a scene (2007, 10 mins): Freda Freiberg provides a commentary on a key scene from the film **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Illustrated booklet with new writing on the film, archive essay by Adrian Martin and credits

• Mikio Naruse Collection | DVD | (26/11/2007) from £149.90   |  Saving you £-104.91 (N/A%)   |  RRP £44.99

  Titles Comprise: 1. When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (Onna ga kaidan o agaru toki) (1960) 2. Floating Clouds (Ukigumo) (1955) 3. Late Chrysanthemums (Bangiku) (1958)

• The Samurai Trilogy | DVD | (30/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Samurai Trilogy is based around the life of the historical character Musashi Miyamoto. Born around 1584 he perfected the technique of two sword fighting as well as developing into a considerable Zen black ink artist. Having fought his first duel at the age of thirteen he was involved in 60 other engagements before his death in 1645. Musashi Miyamoto: The first episode of the trilogy covers Miyamoto's formative years as he emerges from rural obscurity to search for fame and glory in civil war but returns home a broken man. Brought back to sanity through the love of a warm hearted girl she persuades him to place himself under the spiritual guidance of an unorthodox Buddhist priest. His methods of teaching the ways of enlightenment would make the fiercest of Zen masters seem positively gentle. Gaining in spiritual stature and insight Miyamoto is forced to choose between settling for domestic happiness or continuing his search for perfection in the art of the sword. Several versions of Miyamoto's life have been produced for cinema and television in Japan but none more prestigious than Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1955 this first film in the trilogy was also Toho's first foray into colour. Duel At Ichijoji Temple: At first a contemptuous wanderer whose only interest is to prove his prowess against the best Japan has to offer Miyamoto is brought to understand that mastery of the sword is mastery of the self. Along the way he moves from casually committing slaughter to adopting a more compassionate and merciful view of his fellow warriors... Duel At Ganryu Island: His destiny continues to pursue him! Settling down to a life on the land in a peasant village Miyamoto is drawn into protecting the villagers against marauding bandits. And beyond this battle lies the ultimate contest with the driven and obsessive Kojuo Sasaki. The epic closes in a stunning sunset duel...

• Illusion Of Blood | DVD | (02/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  From Shiro Toyoda director of the nightmarish Portrait Of Hell comes a chilling story of love betrayal and vengeance. Tatsuya Nakadai stars as the selfish samurai Iyemon who after the loss of his lord has been left impoverished. He become outraged that his father-in-law intends to sell his two daughter's into prostitution. It is not love but respectability that Iyemon desires...

• The Geisha House | DVD | (11/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A moving and entrancing exploration of a culture that has fascinated the Western world for centuries, Kinji Fukasaki's Geisha House was released in 1998, presaging a flurry of literature and memoirs that have helped to broaden our understanding of the geisha's role in Japanese society. Set in the late 1950s, when geisha culture was threatened by moral crusades, it tells the story of Omacha (Miyamoto Maki), a young girl who sees the geisha life as a way to lift her poverty-stricken family from their hand-to-mouth existence. Through her eyes, we see the protocols and complex financial relationships which dictate the running of the geisha house. Fukusaki's film is a work of great delicacy with moments of hypnotic beauty, and his tender direction, often touched with a sense of wonder, fills the screen with lovingly constructed scenes. At its heart is the poignant situation of the women who must sacrifice their normal relationships to live an ambiguous life in which they are a key part of society while being kept, for the most part, on its periphery, like perpetual mistresses. On the DVD: Geisha House is presented with subtitles in widescreen anamorphic format. The string-laden Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack is occasionally overpowering. The only extra is a short, text biography of Fukusaki. --Piers Ford

• Musashi Miyamoto | DVD | (21/05/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Samurai Trilogy is based around the life of the historical character Musashi Miyamoto. Born around 1584 he perfected the technique of two sword fighting as well as developing into a considerable Zen black ink artist. Having fought his first duel at the age of thirteen he was involved in 60 other engagements before his death in 1645. Several versions of his life have been produced for cinema and television in Japan but none more prestigious than Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1955 it was also Toho's first foray into colour. The first episode of the trilogy covers Miyamoto's formative years as he emerges from rural obscurity to search for fame and glory in civil war but returns home a broken man. Brought back to sanity through the love of a warm hearted girl she persuades him to place himself under the spiritual guidance of an unorthodox Buddhist priest. His methods of teaching the ways of enlightenment would make the fiercest of Zen masters seem positively gentle. Gaining in spiritual stature and insight Miyamoto is forced to choose between settling for domestic happiness or continuing his search for perfection in the art of the sword.

• Duel At Ichijoji Temple | DVD | (20/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Samurai Trilogy is based around the life of the historical character Musashi Miyamoto. Born around 1584 he perfected the technique of two sword fighting as well as developing into a considerable Zen black ink artist. Having fought his first duel at the age of thirteen he was involved in 60 other engagements before his death in 1645. Several versions of his life have been produced for cinema and television in Japan but none more prestigious than Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy. Winne

• Yakuza Box Set | DVD | (17/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Three tough thrillers from the acclaimed director of 'Battle Royale'. Graveyard Of Honour: Rikio Ishikawa is a brutal street thug who is drawn into the powerful Kawada gang in 1946 Tokyo. His insubordination and rebelliousness encourage him to start his own Yakuza family but he decides the easiest way would be to challenge his own Godfather whom he brutally attacks. This disrespect to his boss brings the ultimate form of disgrace upon himself and his 'family'. For his own

• Japanese Classics Of Horror And Fantasy | DVD | (30/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A box set containing some of the best horror and fantasy films ever produced in Japan! Portrait Of Hell Created by premier Japanese novelist Ryunosuke Akutagawa (creator of Roshomon) 'Portrait of Hell' is a mesmerising look into humans creating hell on earth in their own unique ways. Must be seen to be believed! Illusion Of Blood From Shiro Toyoda director of the nightmarish 'Portrait Of Hell' comes a chilling story of love betrayal and vengeance. Tatsuya Nakadai stars as the selfish samurai Iyemon who after the loss of his lord has been left impoverished. He become outraged that his father-in-law intends to sell his two daughter's into prostitution. It is not love but respectability that Iyemon desires... Tokyo The Last Megalopolis When Masakado was executed for crimes against humanity over a thousand years ago his malevolent spirit refused to die with him merely becoming dormant and waiting for the chance to rise again. To disturb it is to awaken a terrible vengeance on the city of Tokyo. The demonic psychic Kato attempts to revive the slumbering evil and use its energy to plunge the city into a hell on Earth. It is up to a lone spiritual warrior Keiko a descendant of Masakado to stop the maniacal Kato before the spirit is released and the ancient curse is unleashed upon the world. Princess From The Moon Toshiro Mifune stars in this enchanting film based on the traditional Japanese fairytale 'Kaguya' as the male half of a country couple who find a baby girl in the bamboo and raise her as their own until the truth is revealed when she is taken back...

• Ozu - Vol 4 | DVD | (29/01/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Late Autumn (aka: Akibiyori): Ayako Miwa (Yoko Tsukasa) gives up thoughts of marriage in order to care for her widowed mother Akiko (Setsuko Hara). However Akiko wishes her daughter to marry even though she will be left alone into old age and when the well-meaning relatives of her deceased husband step into the fray suitors are simultaneously sought for both generations of the Miwa family! An Autumn Afternoon (aka: Sanma No Aji): Widower Shuhei Hirayama (Chishu Ryu) gradually comes to realize that his 24 year-old daughter should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life and so prepares to arrange a marriage for her.

• Duel At Ganryu Island | DVD | (20/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Samurai Trilogy is based around the life of the historical character Musashi Miyamoto. Born around 1584 he perfected the technique of two sword fighting as well as developing into a considerable Zen black ink artist. Having fought his first duel at the age of thirteen he was involved in 60 other engagements before his death in 1645. Several versions of his life have been produced for cinema and television in Japan but none more prestigious than Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy. Winne